To tackle the problems arising from the ageing of water mains in a cost effective manner whilst minimising the effects on the general public, we need to replace and rehabilitate the aged water mains in stages in a systematic manner. Main considerations include the following -

  1. avoidance of unnecessary water supply disruption to consumers as a result of excessive amount of works,
  2. avoidance of unnecessary traffic disruption during construction as a result of excessive road opening works, and
  3. cost effectiveness of the works with priority given to water mains more susceptible to leakage and bursting.

The total estimated cost of the R&R programme is about HK$23.6 billion. A breakdown of estimated costs in individual stages of the R&R programme is presented below:-

Estimated Costs of R&R Works at Different Stages

We are taking forward the replacement and rehabilitation works in stages as follows -

  Stage 1
To bring about early improvement, we implement the stage 1 works in two phases -
  (1) Stage 1 Phase 1
   
  • Works comprise replacement and rehabilitation of about 350 kilometres of water mains throughout the territory.
  • Construction substantially completed in December 2008.
  (2) Stage 1 Phase 2
   
  • Works comprise replacement and rehabilitation of about 250 kilometres of water mains throughout the territory.
  • Construction substantially completed in March 2010.
  Stage 2
 
  • Works comprise replacement and rehabilitation of about 750 kilometres of water mains throughout the territory.
  • Construction substantially completed in June 2011. .
  Stage 3
 
  • Works comprise replacement and rehabilitation of about 800 kilometres of water mains throughout the territory.
  • Works commenced in September 2008 for completion in 2013.
  Stage 4
  (1)

 Stage 4 Phase 1
   
  • Works comprise replacement and rehabilitation of about 500 kilometres of water mains throughout the territory.
  • Works commenced in March 2011 for completion in 2015.
  (2)

Stage 4 Phase 2
   
  • Works comprise replacement and rehabilitation of about 350 kilometres of water mains throughout the territory.
  • Investigation and detailed design substantially completed.
  • Works are scheduled to commence in January 2012 for completion in 2015.

 

We will continue to take into account the existing constraints and to review the replacement and rehabilitation programme with a view to achieving earliest completion. According to the latest progress, we expect that the whole project will be completed by 2015.  The updated progress of works in respect of various stages is presented in the table and figure below:-

 

Stage/Phase Length (km) Commencement Completion Progress
(as At Dec 11)
Stage 1 Phase 1 350 Dec 2000 Dec 2008 100%
Stage 1 Phase 2 250 Sep 2005 Mar 2010 100%
Stage 2 750 Jan 2007 Jun 2011 93%
Stage 3 800 Sep 2008 Dec 2013 47%
Stage 4 Phase 1 500 Mar 2011 Dec 2015 7%
Stage 4 Phase 2 350 Jan 2012  Dec 2015 Design substantially
completed
Total 3,000 - - 57%

Percentage of Completed R&R Works at Different Stages (as at December 2011)